This will be my first time elibable to vote. I registered to vote at the SOS a few years ago, but I dont remember if I claimed a party. I currently live in florida due to the military, but claim michigan as my permanent residence.

You will need to request an absentee ballot from the city, village, or township which you claim residence in. This will need to be done a few days before the election (but can be done further in advance than that).

The Michigan Secretary of State website has some info on absentee ballots but in then, or you can call you city or township clerk to find out what needs to be done and where to get the application for your hometown.

In Michigan when you registered to vote, you did not declare a political affiliation. We have an open primary where any registered voter can participate. However, once you get your absentee ballot (or go into the booth), you can only vote for candidates of one party in the primary. For example, let's say that Senator Stabenow is being challenged for her seat by Dennis Archer, a Dem, and Pete Hoekstra and Joe Knollenberg, both R's. And let's say you really want to vote for Jon Huntsman in the presidential primary. Once you vote for him at the top of the ballot, you would no longer have the option to vote for either Archer or Stabenow for the senate primary even if one of them are your first choice - you must also vote for one of the R candidates (or not vote for a senate candidate at all).